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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681473">Chalk Dust</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/skzpresso/pseuds/skzpresso'>skzpresso</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Han Jisung | Han, But No Romantic Gestures, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jisung Helped Him Feel Better, Lee Minho | Lee Know &amp; Kim Seungmin are Best Friends, M/M, Not Beta Read, Romantic Fluff, Seungmin Had A Bad Day, There Was No Tag For That, so I made it, this is really sweet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:35:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,746</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681473</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/skzpresso/pseuds/skzpresso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Seungmin left in the middle of his lecture since his teacher was an asshole and called him out in front of everyone. He left so he could clear his mind and make it back to his dorm. However, he wound up in the Arts Department instead of where he usually went. </p><p>The man hunched over the pavement and yelling at seemingly no one caught his attention (he was grateful he was on a call and not slowly losing it.)</p><p>Maybe speaking to someone new could boost his spirits, even just a bit.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Han Jisung | Han/Kim Seungmin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>94</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Chalk Dust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>@ whoever left this concept in my cc, I literally love you. this was such a cute idea and I just. it's adorable. this is completely soft and no real angst, but it's rated teen as usual for language. this isn't beta read at all and I'm not editing it anymore, so i hope you enjoy~</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Getting called out by a teacher in the middle of class for no good reason is the fastest way for Seungmin to be put into a bad mood. He tried to keep up with the slides during the lecture and jot down small notes about them in his </span>
  <em>
    <span>previously written notes</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Still, the teacher was trying to accuse him of doing other work in the middle of class. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The attention of all his classmates was overwhelming, and he couldn’t really defend himself. He didn’t speak well under pressure. Seungmin found himself leaving the lecture hall early due to the embarrassment causing his attention span to go out the window. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He texted his roommate, Minho, that he was skipping his classes for the rest of the day because of a bad lecture. Seungmin didn’t know when he’d finally arrive back in his dorm, however. Roaming the campus’s grounds cleared his mind a bit, but he apparently walked a bit further than he meant to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin had found his way over to the massive arts building and could see students scattered outside. Some were working on sketches, paintings, or prototype fashion pieces. A few artists and photographers captured the small ensemble of musicians who were fooling around to pass the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin wound up in the mathematics department because of his parent’s wishes. He didn’t like math, and he wasn’t particularly great at it. His heart yearned for art. Seungmin loved to perform through choir and theatre or capture a memorable moment through photography. Everything about art truly inspired him. So maybe it wasn’t the best for him to be surrounded by so many people pursuing what they loved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a bright laugh seemingly out of nowhere. Seungmin’s eyes scanned the area to see who it was, and was pleasantly surprised to see it was the artist hunched over his work on the ground. Seungmin had seen him around a few times before but knew nothing about him. He’s just never seen the guy when he was fully awake and in a good mood at the same time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m telling you, Jinnie! You have to ask Chan out already!” The artist yelled at absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>no one</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Seungmin was beginning to think the guy was losing it but noticed he was adjusting what looked like wireless earbuds? Was he on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>call</span>
  </em>
  <span>? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He likes you, okay? I’m literally like his little brother, and he tells me everything. Ask him out. I promise it will go better than you think it will,” Jisung nodded to himself and paused, listening to the other side of the call. “Alright. I’ll see you when I’m finished with classes for the day. Bye-bye!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin thought that may have been the cutest farewell he had ever heard, and the sweet smile paired with it only did more of a number on Seungmin’s heart. However, he felt like a creeper just standing there and staring at this guy. The artist put down whatever he was using and picked up his phone instead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin couldn’t see what his medium was from a distance he was at, so he figured now was as good a time as any to approach the guy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The closer he gets, the more he can tell that the artist was using chalk on the sidewalk to create something. The picture began to take shape when he was just a few feet away. Seungmin could instantly tell he stepped in Jisung’s light source based on his shadow covering a section. He shuffled to the side quickly, but the artist was quick to look up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun hit the man’s face, and his skin seemed to glow under the light. Seungmin was incredibly stunned and jealous of the effortless beauty this guy had. Clear skin, long eyelashes, pink lips, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>nice eyebrows? Seungmin was a goner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t- I’m sorry I stepped in your light. I was- You looked- I wanted to see what you were drawing because from a distance I couldn’t tell.” Seungmin reached up to rub at his face after stuttering over a simple apology. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay! I need to take a break anyway,” The guy said, pulling out his earbuds to put them back in the case he had for them. “I’m Jisung, by the way! I would offer to shake your hand, but I have so much chalk on my hands right now.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sheepish smile paired with a lovely blush across Jisung’s cheeks was enough to send Seungmin’s heart into overdrive. Curse his inability to reason around anyone attractive.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s fine, I get it! I’m Seungmin!” He laughed, immediately realizing it sounded just as nervous as he was. “What are you working on?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, step around to this side,” Jisung waved him over to sit next to where he currently was. He moved a few bags and boxes out of the way and patted the grass next to him. “Tell me what you see first.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, lots of flowers,” Seungmin could tell that with little effort. There was a wide variety of realistic and well-detailed flowers scattered across the pavement. “Flowers floating on water, I assume?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin could tell the piece wasn’t completed. The free space was littered with white lines of various weights, so he assumed it could be a watery base since there wasn’t much to work with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Precisely! I’m still working on how I want the lighting to look, but I may actually use nature’s light in my piece.” Jisung gestured upwards to where the sun was looming slightly to the north of them. “That way, for as long as this stays here, it can be viewed a bit more realistically.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think that’d be really cool, actually,” Seungmin muttered aloud. “Have you done other pieces around here?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lots! I‘ve done some small pieces and then some really fun optical illusions too.” Jisung smiled widely. “They were tough but super fun to study so I could make my own. They became a hotspot for friend groups to take their photos, and they were all so careful about stepping on or around the chalk. I actually got-” Jisung slapped a hand over his mouth and deflated a bit. The light in his eyes no longer matching the brightness of the sun above. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I ramble when I talk about art; I’m really sorry for boring you.” Jisung slapped on as good of a smile as he could, and Seungmin was confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s nice hearing you excited about what you love! I promise it won’t bore me. I listen to my roommate have his own breakthroughs about Child Psychology and the practices that could be used. I also hear one of my friends rambling about the best method to farm resources in a game. Don’t tell him I have no clue what that means, though,” Seungmin </span>
  <em>
    <span>himself </span>
  </em>
  <span>started rambling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A genuine smile growing on Jisung’s face was worth it, though. Seungmin took in a shaky breath of relief whenever Jisung seemed to be right back where he started. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You want to hang around while I work a bit? I’ve got some snacks and drinks in this cooler because I can wind up here for hours longer than I mean to,” Jisung sighed dramatically. He put the small cooler behind them both so they could reach it with ease. “If you want to watch or just work on some homework, I’m cool with that. It’s just nice having some company.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That actually sounds really nice,” Seungmin’s heart and neck warmed at the sweet gesture. He’s seen many artists be very protective of their work since they didn’t want to process to be seen. Seungmin figures Jisung had to get over that type of art anxiety since most useable surfaces for his medium was </span>
  <em>
    <span>outside.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll work on some homework </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>watch because I’m very curious about how you’re going to make water happen,” Seungmin teased, and Jisung lightly flicked his knee in retaliation. He dusted away the chalk remains before smiling to himself. “Thanks for letting me hang around despite us </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>meeting. I had a bad lecture period and needed a pick-me-up.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin didn’t mean to reveal that, but now that he had, he had Jisung’s full attention for a moment. Jisung completely turned to face Seungmin and wiped his hands free of chalk. So there wasn’t any question about what he was doing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You want to talk about it real quick? You can rant, and I can listen, or we don’t have to talk about it at all. I’m open to hearing about your day, though,” Jisung said with a stern voice. Seungmin’s resolve melted immediately due to the sincerity in Jisung’s tone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He spilled about the teacher and how he felt about the class, and Jisung didn’t once make him feel as if he were wrong for it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your teacher was an asshole. I’m sorry he did that. How do you think the next lecture will go?” Jisung asked. His hand kept reaching closer to Seungmin but would retract it moments later. Seungmin was sure Jisung wanted to physically comfort him, but Seungmin didn’t know how to tell him he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m hoping it goes fine,” Seungmin sighed, staring up at the sky. “If it doesn’t, then I guess I might just start showing up for test days since attendance doesn’t matter.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you think that’s what would be best for you, and you can handle teaching yourself, then that should be your back up plan.” Seungmin looked at the man whenever Jisung finally brought his hand down onto his knee gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for listening to that mess,” Seungmin said. He noticed that Jisung didn’t remove his hand from his knee just yet. The touch was warm, like the rays of the sun being cast on his skin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like to help where I can,” Seungmin looked up at Jisung’s face to see the other already studying him. To say Seungmin’s breath got caught in his throat would be an understatement. Jisung was just too handsome for Seungmin’s wellbeing. “Let’s get to work, shall we?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>-</span> <span>-</span> <span>-</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somehow, this became a routine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung would stay somewhere near the art building for almost three hours before he needed to get to class, so Seungmin started stopping by to join him on the days he saw him. He couldn’t see Jisung every day because of how his classes were arranged, but it was frequent nonetheless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was comfortable to spend time with someone while tending to your own projects. Sometimes Seungmin found himself watching Jisung a bit more than he’d like to admit, but it was nice nonetheless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin still wasn’t sure how to ask for Jisung’s number, or if Jisung even </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>considers them friends. Jisung talks about various people over a few weeks, but Seungmin can’t tell if there’s any significant other in the picture. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, he decided to be brave and ask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you dating anyone?” Seungming blurted out after several minutes of silence lingered over them. He intended to ask less bluntly, but he never did anything with grace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung was surprised by the sudden question but didn’t let it interrupt his process. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope, I’ve been single for a while. What about you?” Jisung shot back calmly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh- No- I’m not dating anyone either.” Seungmin was mentally slapping himself right about now. There was no way he could have a chance with Jisung at this rate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess we’re single together then,” Jisung laughed. Seungmin could feel the awkwardness settle between them in no time. It was uncomfortable, and Seungmin didn’t know what to do to resolve the silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was getting closer to the time Jisung needed to leave, and Seungmin was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he had ruined their little friendship today. However, Jisung continued on as usual whenever they packed their things to go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See you later, Seungmin!” Jisung waved while chucking the bookbag over his shoulder. Seungmin waved back shyly before turning away to walk to his dorm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He can’t even wait until he gets back before he needs to rant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Seungmin? Are you okay?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Minho asks over the phone. His voice was a bit muffled, but he didn’t sound like he had been napping. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do I ask out someone and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>make a fool out of myself?” Seungmin asked with seriousness. He needed to go ahead and make his interest known to Jisung before their relationship shifts anymore. Still, he doesn’t want to embarrass himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Just be yourself! You don’t have to be dramatic with it. Just ask them to get coffee or something simple. You’ll be fine. Are you on your way back?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m around five minutes out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We can talk more when you get here. Stay safe, Seungmin.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><span>-</span> <span>-</span> <span>-</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the information and minimal confidence Minho had given Seungmin, he felt a bit better about potentially asking Jisung out the next time they met. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s just his brain stopped working whenever he saw Jisung was dressed nicely today. Fitted black jeans with a white button-down tucked into them, as well as some black boots. His hair was fixed, and he even had on some makeup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever Seungmin had mentally prepared was forgotten without a second thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dressed nicely today?” Seungmin asked once he got close enough to Jisung. The shorter was carefully arranging his chalks and getting several towels to place over his clothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got a presentation to do today in class, and we’re graded on how professional we look as well. I think that’s a stupid concept because my tattoos aren’t a sign that I’m a bad worker.” Jisung huffed. He was right; Seungmin definitely agreed. But, </span>
  <em>
    <span>tattoos</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have tattoos as well?” Seungmin really hated the fact his brain to mouth filter decided to abandon him today. He tried his best to save it. “My roommate has a few and complains about the same problems.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeves and rolled them up. Seungmin had noticed that Jisung was always wearing an oversized hoodie or jacket, so he’s never </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen </span>
  </em>
  <span>his arms. Something about rolled-up sleeves really does something to Seungmin, and he’d rather not think about that right now. So he focuses on the artwork on Jisung’s skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These are just constellations. Constellations played a big part in making calendars way back in the day. So, I got the constellation that matched the zodiac sign of those who mean the most to me.” Jisung smiled down at his arm, tracing a few mindlessly. “It’s cheesy, I guess, but there are some people I never want to forget.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s really sweet, Jisung,” Seungmin said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“However, this one-” Jisung pointed to the cute cupcake on his other arm, “-was from a dare.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Explain?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chan dared me to get a tattoo because he said I had terrible pain tolerance. However, Hyunjin got to pick out the tattoo. So, I’ve been cursed with a cupcake on my left arm. And I can’t get it removed because of my pride.” Jisung and Seungmin both start laughing because of the emotional rollercoaster that just happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s definitely a range here,” Seungmin lightly held Jisung’s arm in place so he could trace some of the constellations as well. They were beautifully done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was wondering.” Jisung paused long enough that Seungmin looked up to see Jisung gnawing at his bottom lip. “Would you like to get lunch or something sometime?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seungmin noticed the tips of Jisung’s ears were a brilliant red, and he was avoiding looking at Seungmin. However, the taller was practically vibrating with happiness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d really like that. I was planning on asking you the same thing, but I got distracted because you look really nice.” Seungmin decided to admit since Jisung was the courageous one here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Jisung looked genuinely surprised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re really handsome, okay? My brain malfunctioned,” Seungmin lightly shoved Jisung’s shoulder when the other laughed at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take the compliment then.” Jisung’s smirk turned Seungmin’s stomach into knots. “If you want, I can put my number in your phone?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Seungmin leaves campus that day, he’s covered in colorful handprints of chalk because Jisung couldn’t keep his hands to himself for long. He wanted to be as close to Seungmin as he could since he knew there was interest. And well, Seungmin wasn’t mad about it. It was just some chalk, after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If he got a cute boyfriend and the biggest downside was chalk dust being </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>, then is there really a problem to begin with?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>random seungsung one-shot while i work on all my fest fics! I've got five fics planned on coming out before may and at least three more planned throughout the rest of the year. please look forward to some new and interesting things from me!</p><p>I'm currently working on a hyunsung and seungbin socmed (social media) au so if your interested in that then you can come to my writing page! I'll see you all soon and hopefully with more... impressive works. </p><p> </p><p>  <a href="twitter.com/skzpresso">Writing Twt</a><br/><a href="curiouscat.me/skzpresso">Curious Cat</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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